Page 100 of Wicked Prince

"Well, actually, I—"

Stefan casts me a helpless look as Kayleigh drags him into the crowd like it's a horde of starving zombies.

I give him a sympathetic wave, since she's really beyond my ability to thwart. If I knew how to do that, my life would be a lot easier.

I'm about to find a quiet corner to hide in, which is generally my social gathering strategy of choice, when Anthony appears out of nowhere.

"Hey," he says, giving me a hug. He pauses to glance over my outfit. "Well, you look great. Someone with impeccable taste must've dressed you."

I roll my eyes, giving him a slight nudge with my shoulder. "You look pretty sharp yourself."

He always does, of course. Tonight, he's wearing a silver blazer and a shirt without a tie tucked carelessly into his slacks.

"Why, thank you," he says, smoothing a hand down his blazer. He glances up with a conspiratorial gleam in his eyes. "So, where is he?"

"Stefan?" I ask. "Kayleigh snatched him the moment we walked through the door."

Anthony snorts. "That's no surprise. But I was referring to your secret lover."

I groan. "Don't even. It was—"

"Just a two-time thing, I know," he says dryly. "You might want to work on making that sound more convincing."

I sigh, but he's not wrong. I have a hard enough time convincing myself.

"I figured you would've seen him. I'm hoping to avoid him all night, if I can."

"Good luck with that," he says, glancing up.

I don't need to see who he's looking at to know. The disdain makes it obvious enough. I'm not even sure if the bad blood between them existed before I came along, but he definitely isn't Anthony's favorite person, that much is clear.

I sigh again as Lorenzo walks over to us. I'm surprised he's being so bold, considering where we are. And who's around.

"Hey," he says, walking over to us.

"I can see the appeal," Anthony says in a bone dry tone, not even bothering to make sure Lorenzo doesn't hear. "He's a regular Casanova."

"Funny," Lorenzo says, his mouth setting into a firm line. "Do you think I could have a moment alone with Amelia?"

Indignation aside, he looks good.

Who am I kidding? He doesn't just look good on his worst day, he’s drop-dead gorgeous. But I try to keep myself from thinking about it. It's too dangerous.

Anthony glances my way. "Think you're okay without a chaperone?"

I roll my eyes, touching his arm. "I'll catch up with you later."

He nods and gives Lorenzo another filthy look before he goes over to join a few of his other friends.

"Well, what do you want?" I ask once I'm alone with Lorenzo. I know Anthony was being sarcastic about the whole chaperone thing, but there's a part of me that thinks that probably isn't a bad idea. I clearly can't trust my own judgment when we're together.

He frowns. It's like he has no idea, not even the slightest clue, why I wouldn't be thrilled to see him. "You act like we're strangers."

"We are," I remind him. "When it's convenient for you."

He just sighs. "I thought last night had changed things."

"Last night?" I echo. "Let's see, you're still here with another woman, so no, I don't think it changed anything."

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